1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dispensing containers and more particularly to a hollow container having a dispensing slot therein through which sheet material may be delivered from a roll stored internally of the container, the slot having opposed seal faces coated with a fabric-like material to restrict entry of light.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hollow dispensing containers which have elongated slots therethrough for dispensing sheet material from a roll stored inside of the container are well known to the art. Examples of such include devices such as paper towel dispensers and, more closely related to the present invention, film canisters. In the phototypesetting field large quantities of film are dispensed from such containers into the operation portions of the phototypesetting device. Such film has normally been sold by the manufacturer in rolls which may be on the order of a hundred feet or more in length. The rolls are sold already contained in a disposable dispensing container which may, for example, be formed of paper or plastic or the like. Such disposable dispensing containers have means for holding the roll of film in a central portion of the interior of the container. An elongated slot through the wall of the container is provided for dispensing the film. It is necessary that this slot be protected to prevent entry of direct light to the interior of the container. Such entry of light could pre-expose the film within the container rendering it useless.
A normal method of protecting against entry of light is the provision of a fabric-like material on one or both sides of the elongated slot, which material has a pile depth sufficient to close the slot. However, because the pile of the material in non-rigid, the sheet of film is able to pass through the slot. Such constructions fulfill the purpose of preventing entry of direct light to the interior of the canister without putting undesired pressure on the film as it passes through the slot.
While such prior art dispensing containers provide adequate means of dispensing film while protecting it prior to dispensing, they represent a considerable expenditure above that of the film alone. Since it is not unusual for large volume printing establishments to use an appreciable number of such film canisters in a relatively short period of time, the expense of providing a disposable canister with each roll of film can accumulate to a significant amount.
Additionally, it is sometimes desirable to reverse the film surface when feeding the film into the phototypesetting device. Normally such film is coated with an emulsion on one side only. For various reasons, at times, it may be desirable to feed the film with the emulsion side up into the phototypesetting device while at other times it may be desirable to feed the film into the device with the emulsion side down. In addition, it is often times desirable to feed sheet material other than film into the phototypesetting device. For these reasons, and others, it would be desirable to provide a permanent dispensing container for dispensing the film or other sheet material, such as paper, which permanent container could be easily loaded with bulk rolls of film.
Although the provision of such a permanent dispensing container could significantly reduce the cost of film by eliminating the need for disposable containers, there are numerous possible disadvantages to such containers. Primarily among this, is the necessity of maintaining a light blocking slot. Although the prior used fabric-like coatings provide a solution to this problem, they have not been thought to be useable on a permanent canister. One reason for this is the fact that the emulsion on the film will eventually coat or otherwise destroy the fabric-like material thus rendering it useless.
It would therefore be a significant advance in the art to provide a permanent input cassette consisting of a durable rigid container having a slot opening thereto equipped with replaceable cloth-like seals, the container being easily opened for insertion of a roll sheet material in a desired position.